Saiendo Dedicated Mirror Votive Great Prajnaparamita Sutra Tendoku Buddhist Service

About this event

The Horyuji Saiendo Daihannyakyo Tendoku Hoyo is an annual Buddhist service usually held on October 8. It began in 1994 (Heisei 6) when a restored bronze votive mirror was mounted on a pillar. In the Daihannyakyo Tendoku service, monks chant all 600 volumes of the Great Prajnaparamita Sutra in a short period using a rapid-reading method called tendoku, a practice recorded as early as 703 AD (Taiho 3). The bonpu (sacred breeze) generated by tendoku is believed to ward off all misfortunes. The Great Prajnaparamita Sutra teaches that from the perspective of Prajna (supreme wisdom), all things are empty (ku) and without fixed substance, and it is said to have the spiritual power to conquer evil. Because the main image enshrined in Saiendo, the Dry-Lacquer Seated Yakushi Nyorai statue (National Treasure), was believed to possess remarkable miraculous virtues, mirrors and armor have been dedicated to it since ancient times.

Venue

S июendo (Saiendo)

1 Horyuji Sannai, Ikaruga, Ikoma District, Nara 636-0115